Parish Council News

We are still receiving complaints about the car transporters which are operating 24 hours a day to Jaguar Landrover. Councillor Price is bringing the matter to the attention of JLR again.

The Gaydon Inn

We understand that the new owner will be inviting residents to look at the plans for the site. He will also be engaging with the Parish Council.

Cemetery

If you see any vehicles in the cemetery at night can you please note the registration numbers and contact either the Police or the Clerk. The gates have been removed for shot-blasting and painting.

Chestnut Tree

Essential work has been carried out on the Horse Chestnut Tree on the green.

Telephone Green

We have asked for the second bin by the telephone box to be removed and placed in the play area.

Banbury Road

The broken bollard on the refuge has been reported to highways. It should be fixed soon.

Water leaks

Severn Trent have said that the water leak on the Warwick Road has been fixed a number of times. They have mended it again but believe major work is required. We do not know yet when the major work will be carried out. The water leak in the lay-by has been found and we understand Severn Trent are fixing it. The leak on the Kineton Road has been reported.

Flooding

The County Council has said that it will be looking at a 'holding pond' and bank behind the houses on the Kineton Road but funding will not be available until 2015/16. County Councillor Chris Williams said that they are investigating all of the flooding issues in the village and will produce a plan for the parish. Residents and landowners are urged to keep the drains and ditches on their land or near their properties clear. If you see a blocked drain please contact the clerk.

M40 extension

Draft plans were shown to the Parish Council. The Government has allocated £12 million to the motorway improvements but the County is responsible for the funding of the improvement to the roads in Gaydon. The Gaydon road improvements will be open to public consultation.

2013/14 Precept

The Parish Council has agreed that the precept should be raised by 2%.

Windfarm Planning Application

(land between Bishops Itchington/Gaydon/Knightcote)

Stratford District Council Planning Committee will be discussing this application on Tuesday, 12th February, at 6pm at Kineton High School. Residents are welcome to attend.

Shipston Home Nursing

Hospice at Home in Shipston, Wellesbourne and Kineton
Spring Fashion Show presented by Justina of Wellesbourne,
held at Walton Hall on Thursday 14 March at 7pm
Champagne and Canape reception followed by 2 course dinner.
Also an auction of Jewellery, donated by Howard Jewellers will be held by none other than "Nick Hewer of The Apprentice".
£40 per person - limited spaces so book soon.
For tickets please call Rebecca on 01608 674929
or Justina on 01789 841562

Flood Report 2013

Mr John Davies of Banbury Road has kept a daily record of rainfall for the past 20 years.
These statistics can be seen on the Gaydon Village Website

Where two or more months of heavy rainfall follow one another on the graph, flooding has often occurred as it did in 1992, 1998, 2007 and 2012. Further analysis shows that the driest months tend to fall in the first quarter of the year and the wettest in the summer. No-one in Gaydon would disagree with the latter!

See the website for John's daily figures.

Food Bank

We have all heard that Food Banks are greatly in demand now that so many people are out of work and on low incomes. Here in the countryside the churches are going to act as food banks. Kineton Church has already started to set up a Collection and Distribution point through the Trussell Trust and Gaydon will be contributing to it when the logistics have been worked out. Until then, gifts of food can be put in the box at the back of St Giles' Church and Claire Hamm will take them to a Food Bank Distribution Centre at her workplace.

Please put your donations of food in the box at the back of the Church.

Lent

Ash Wednesday falls on 13 February and there will be a service of Holy Communion at Northend at 7.30pm.

Village Green Conker Tree

There was heavy snow on 18 January when the work on the horse chestnut was due to take place. Two hardy parish councillors oversaw the operation and directed traffic as necessary.

The rot on the main trunk has advanced since last year and is now feeding woodpeckers. Two of the main branches had long splits underneath and a third branch was pushing onto the telegraph pole carrying the power cable. These branches were trimmed back and made safe. The tree will probably have to be felled in a few years' time owing to the rot but will continue to grace the Green for now.

Bolton King M.A., J.P.

Bolton King was born at Chadshunt House on 8 May 1860, the only son of Lt Col. Edward Bolton King and his second wife, Lady Louisa Palmer. From 1869-72 he attended Mr Hunter's School at Kineton and from 1872-79, Eton College. He took a first class degree in History at Balliol College, Oxford.

In 1882 he became a founder member of Toynbee Hall in the East End of London; he was a pioneer of co-operative farming, the Radbourne Manor Farming association, and of social housing for rural workers to make them more independent. To this end, he built the cottages on the Banbury Road in Gaydon; and to help with their education, he built the Reading Room, now known as Gaydon Village Hall. The Cottage, Banbury Road, called Meadow House nowadays, was reserved for his own use and he sometimes arranged for East End mothers to go there for a rest. In 1881 it became his permanent home.

On 8 May 1895 he married Lydia Arnold of Gaydon. That year he instigated the Annual Flower Show and the Cottage started hosting the Children's Christmas Party. His son, Oliver, was born in 1896, followed by Edward in 1900.

Bolton King became chairman of the Warwickshire Technical Education Committee. He was outspoken in his criticism of the Boer War. He lost friends and was defeated in his bid to become Liberal MP for Stratford upon Avon.

In 1904 he was made Director of Education for Warwickshire and moved to Warwick. There, in 1906, his twin children Ralph and Lettice were born.

For the next 24 years he was Director of Education for the county. He set up a Teachers' Consultative Committee to improve communication between the teachers and the authority; he doubled the number of school places for children; he increased the number of scholarships for secondary education; and he set up an inter-school lending library of over 10,000 books.

The portrait in Gaydon Village Hall was drawn by T.P. Anderson to mark Bolton King's retirement in 1928. He died 15 May 1937 and his ashes were laid in the family vault at Chadshunt.

Further reading: Bolton King - Practical Idealist by Ralph Bolton King, 1978 Paper for the Warwickshire Local History Society.

The crayon portrait of Bolton King now hanging in the Village Hall was donated by his family in 2012 in memory of his close association with Gaydon.

Mobile Library

The Library will be here on Thursday 21st February. The van will be at the Telephone Box 1.50-2.10pm and at

St Marks Close 2.15-2.35pm.

Friendship Club

The next meeting will be at 2.30pm on Tuesday 19 February at the home of Mrs Mary Fox, Corner Cottage, Church Lane.

Coffee Morning and Market

The February coffee morning will be on Saturday 9th at 11am in the Village Hall. In addition to our usual raffle and cake sale, there will be a special raffle for a Christmas (yes) Hamper as a fund-raiser for this coming year's Christmas Lunch.

Please come along and try your luck in the draw! If you can't make it to the coffee morning, you can buy a £1 ticket in advance by calling at the Old Bakehouse or at Corner Cottage. Other funds raised are in aid of the church fabric fund. MF

Quiz at the Malt Shovel

The Macmillan Mammoth Quiz has been running since 2009, taking place on the last Friday in February. Groups up and down the country take part in a simultaneous Quiz on the same evening with the same questions to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

So far almost £70,000 has been raised to support people - and their families - who are fighting against cancer.

This year the Malt Shovel in Gaydon has joined the effort.

The quiz will take place in the pub at 8.30pm with tables of four. Tickets are £5 per person and can be bought from the Shop, from Debi at the pub and from Alison Mallalieu on 640971.

Parish Council News

Jonathan Crowe has resigned from the Parish Council which is now one member short.

Heritage Motor Centre

Auto Science Live - Half Term Family Fun 16 - 24 February

A week of family-friendly activities bringing automotive engineering and the science behind it to life - a program of fun, interactive workshops and drop-in sessions to inspire all ages. Choose from painting with remote-controlled cars, children's digital photography, K'nex build challenge, to name a few.

Visit the website for full details and booking information.

A free Auto Science Quiz will run all week with a prize for those who solve it. Normal museum admission prices apply, some workshops carry an extra charge and need to be booked.

Visit www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk or call 01926 645031.

Lighthorne Heath Primary School

Happy New Year to you all! I hope you are managing to stay warm and cosy in this icy weather!

We finished 2012 in style with a fantastic Christmas performance of 'Stable Story', a musical based around the nativity story. The children spoke clearly, acted brilliantly and sang like angels, so the show was enjoyed by all. We also shared a fantastic Christmas dinner and the Year 4, 5 and 6 children organised an excellent Winter Fair to help raise money for the school. There were lots of inventive games, puzzles and stalls and we were lucky enough to have a visit from Father Christmas.

The new term is now in full swing and we have kicked off the year with a French week. Children spent the week finding out about France and learning some French. We focused particularly on learning greetings, talking about ourselves and ordering food in a café. The week of activities culminated in a delicious French breakfast to which parents and carers were also invited. The children created invitations, menus and translation cards to help everyone to speak in French for the morning. We practised all the language we had learned and really enjoyed the croissants, baguettes and hot chocolate treats! Superbe!

Pancake Day

Shrove Tuesday is on 12 February so don't forget to stock up on lemons and eggs at the Village Store!

Nature Notes

I write this from a snow-covered Gaydon. Today, whilst I was chipping the ice from my car, a neighbour brought me the frozen body of a Pied Wagtail which had probably been unable to find sufficient water or warmth the previous night. The present widespread feeding of birds has probably kept many from a similar fate.

I know things are difficult when the shy Great Spotted Woodpecker visits the nut feeder in my garden. Other attractive visitors have included a family of Long-tailed Tits, always in a family group and in a constant communication of loud tweets!

The centre of the village is less diverse than such areas as the Banbury Road which back onto farmland and woods; although I saw a flock of Waxwings near the allotments; and a huge flock of about two hundred Redwings and Fieldfares were roosting in the Leylandii at the bottom of my garden for one night only.

One advantage of snow is that it leaves numerous clues in the form of tracks. The large cloven hooves of Fallow deer, the smaller elegant Water deer, dainty Stoats and Weasels, rabbits and foxes are all skirting our local fields - though rarely seen.

Scooping out my hen corn was a bit of a shock today as a dozen mice had fallen into the bin and were unable to climb out, jumping frantically until released!

Large fissures appeared in our village Chestnut tree and it is now made safe. It seems to have no serious disease and so we may hope that Spring will see it renew itself with verdant foliage.

Crows, always a resilient species, gather in flocks around any roadkill, elegantly dodging oncoming cars in order to pick up choice titbits. Unlike pheasants and foxes, they are good judges of speed and have adapted to modern road conditions. Buzzards and Kestrels sit disconsolate and drooping in wayside trees, hoping for the odd rabbit and mouse or maybe carrion. Times are hard in the bleak countryside at present. Bernard Price

Gaydon Village Store

Gaydon Village Store welcomes its new volunteers and thanks everyone who supports the shop as a customer or as a volunteer.

Why drive to Kineton, Leamington or Banbury when you can shop around the corner? Don't forget you can order your fruit and vegetables daily, too. And you can be sure of a friendly welcome in your local village shop!

Macmillan Quiz

Friday 22 February 8.30pm
The Malt Shovel Inn Gaydon
Teams of Four
Tickets £5 per person to include cheese and biscuits
Buy tickets in advance from the village shop
Plus raffle with fabulous prizes
Tickets also available from Debi at the Pub phone 641221 and Alison on 640971